Research progress on prevention and control of turfgrass thatch

Thatch refers to the semi-decomposed and semi-decaying organic matter between the surface and green plants, which is formed through accumulation of the roots, horizontal stems (stolons and rhizomes), and mature leaf sheaths of turfgrass. Thatch exists widely in the lawn ecosystem, and its thickness directly affects the quality and service life of the lawn, as well as its sports quality, such as elasticity, buffer, and trample resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to take appropriate measures to reduce the accumulation of thatch or accelerate the degradation of thatch. We summarized related literature at home and abroad on the relationship between thatch and grass seed selection, cutting, drilling, coring, vertical mowing, ultraviolet radiation, N fertilizer, lime, insecticides, fungicides, growth retardant, earthworm, microbes, enzymes, and biological materials. In this review, we describe the effects of these factors on thatch degradation mechanism from three aspects: improvement of soil physical and chemical properties, effects of soil nutrient content and proportion, and increased number of soil animals, microbes, and active enzymes.